This is Part 1 of a 3-part series on Yamagata Prefecture, as part of our Travel & Books focus. Part 2 is Ep. 98 Dewa Sanzan (3 Sacred Mountains) + Mt. Yudono Secrets.

In this episode, Amy encounters a large cow statue in the train station at Yonegawa. She asks a local to explain the cow structure, and learns about Yamagata’s famous beef called Yonezawa-gyu.

She goes on to discuss Michael Booth’s Sushi and Beyond: What the Japanese Know About Cooking, (also known as Super Sushi Ramen Express: One Family’s Journey Through the Belly of Japan) which explores the myths and semi-myths behind Japanese beef—from beer-drinking, massaged cows to the influence of breed and diet. You  may be surprised at some of the truths, which humor co-host John.

Amy then traces the story of Yamagata’s Yonezawa beef, the legendary samurai Uesugi Kenshin, and the influence of English teacher Charles Henry Dallas, a Brit who helped introduce the Yonezawa beef brand to the world. John talks about the influence of shabu-shabu beef dishes in Taiwan.

They also follow Matsuo Bashō’s journey through Yamagata’s sacred mountains of Dewa Sanzan, described in his travelogue The Narrow Road to the Deep North as translated by Yuasa Nobuyuki. The co-hosts also recommend Leslie Downer’s travelogue, On Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North: Journey into a Lost Japan, for another perspective on retracing the poet’s route.

Along the way, Amy recalls stays at a traditional Yamagata ryokan called Gotenmori a special place said to have been the family villa of one of Japan’s most famous samurai Uesugi Kenshin.

And if you’re in Yamagata, don’t miss the Basho Memorial Museum in Yamadera, where you can see some of his hand-written manuscripts.

Shout-outs:

Thanks to Iide town Tourism Promotion Department and Tetsu for the interview about Yamagata beef.

A special thank you to Yamagata Experience for their support, and to Heartland Japan for the Yamagata Onsen Trail tour, which included hiking Mt. Zao’s volcanic landscape past the emerald Okama crater lake.

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The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy’s Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

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